sampling

sampling

[sam´pling]

the selection or making of a sample.

the selection of a group of people, events, behaviors, or other elements that are representative of the population being studied in order to derive conclusions about the entire population from a limited number of observations.

accidental sampling a type of nonprobability sampling in which the population selected is easily accessible to the researcher; available subjects are simply entered into the study without any attempt at randomization. Called also convenience sampling.

chorionic villus sampling (CVS) sampling of chorionic villi from the villous area of the chorion, a procedure used for prenatal diagnosis at nine to 12 weeks of gestation. A catheter is inserted either through the cervix or through the abdominal wall and fetal chorionic villus tissue for analysis is aspirated under ultrasonic guidance. This has been used for the prenatal diagnosis of fetal trisomies, hemoglobinopathies, and biochemical disorders. It allows first trimester diagnosis and direct chromosomal and biochemical analysis but does not screen for neural tube defects or certain other anomalies; some of those may be identified by maternal serum and amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein measurements.

A diagram of the technique of transvaginal chorionic villus sampling. From Mueller and Young, 2001.

cluster sampling a type of probability sampling in which the population is divided into groups on the basis of some shared characteristic (such as hospitals grouped by geographic region) and a random sample is drawn from each of these groups.

nonprobability sampling sampling in which not every element of the population has an opportunity of being selected for the sample; the sample is not representative of the population and generalizations cannot be made to the population.

percutaneous umbilical blood sampling a procedure used to obtain fetal blood for examination; a sterile needle is inserted through the mother's abdomen and uterus, and guided to one of the umbilical veins via ultrasound. This procedure has begun to replace fetoscopy because it has a lower complication rate. Direct sampling of fetal blood provides more rapid test results than amniocentesis, and a more definitive diagnosis. It can be used to identify chromosomal abnormalities, detect a fetal infection, and assess fetal growth and development. Called also cordocentesis.

Percutaneous umbilical cord sampling, also known as cordocentesis. The needle is advanced through the skin and into the uterus. Once the needle punctures the umbilical cord and one of the uterine veins, cord blood is aspirated by the syringe. From Malarkey and McMorrow, 2000.

probability sampling sampling in which each element of a population has an opportunity of being selected for the sample; its purpose is to obtain a sample that is representative of the population and from which generalizations to the population can be made.

purposive sampling a type of nonprobability sampling in which the researcher consciously selects specific elements or subjects for inclusion in a study in order to ensure that the elements will have certain characteristics relevant to the study.

quota sampling a type of nonprobability sampling in which an accidental sample is adjusted to ensure that certain subgroups are not underrepresented; its purpose is to obtain a sample that is representative of the population to which the researcher wishes to make generalizations.

stratified random sampling sampling in which the population is divided into several groups that are alike in certain ways and a random selection is made from each group.

systematic sampling the selection of study objects conducted when an ordered list of all members of the population is available; subjects are chosen from the list at a given uniform interval from each other, using a starting point that is selected randomly.

sam·pling

(sam'pling),

The policy of inferring the behavior of a whole batch by studying a fraction of it.

[MF essample, fr. L. exemplum, taking out]

sampling

/sam·pling/ (sam´pling) the selection or making of a sample.

chorionic villus sampling (CVS) any of several procedures for obtaining fetal tissue to use in prenatal diagnosis, performed at 9 to 12 weeks' gestation, usually by means of a catheter passed through the cervix or by a needle inserted through the abdominal and uterine walls.

sampling

An MRI term for the conversion of analog signals to discrete digital values through a preselected measurement process.

sampling

Statistics The obtaining of representative material from a population Surgery A procedure that obtains a soupçon of material for pathologic evaluation, without a formal attempt at complete removal of a suspected or confirmed lesion. See Cluster sampling, Inferior petrosal sinus sampling.

sam·pling

(sam'pling)

The policy of inferring the behavior of a whole batch by studying a fraction of it.

[MF essample, fr. L. exemplum, taking out]

sampling

the act of taking a fraction of substance to be tested or analysed.

the selection of some parts from a larger whole as in statistical sampling.

sampling

harvesting small amounts of tissue to allow laboratory microbiological culture and determine antimicrobial sensitivity; clinical samples should be taken before application of antiseptics/antimicrobial therapies; skin and nail scrapings are sealed in a labelled paper sachet; wound exudate samples (taken from the deepest part of wound) are transported in a sterile container; adequate amounts of the sample must be harvested, and include full clinical details (e.g. nature of sample, location, date of collection, patient biographical details, information of health status and current medications regime)

sampling

The selection of a group of subjects from a population. This is usually done for the purpose of experimentation. The part of the population selected is called the sample: it is usually considered to be representative of a given population. A good sample must be random, i.e. every possible member of that population has an equal chance of being selected. Otherwise, it is said to be biased. Sampling can extend either across geographical areas (spatial sampling) or over a period of time (temporal sampling).

sampling

the process of selecting a sample.

area sampling

dividing the population into equal areas and randomly selecting from among the areas.

cluster sampling

when the population to be sampled exists in clusters, e.g. herds, sampling can be done by random selection between the herds. This assumes that each cluster is a homogeneous group.

sampling fraction

ratio of the number of units in the population to the number of units in the population.

sampling frame

the names of the component parts of the population from which the sample is to be collected.

quota sampling

the sections of the population, e.g. milking cows, dry cows, yearlings, calves are represented in the sample in the same proportion as they exist in the population.

stratified sampling

a simple random selection is performed in each stratum of those created in order to permit a different sampling percentage to be used in each stratum.

systematic sampling

the sampling is random but the samples are drawn systematically, say every third unit, the first unit also being chosen randomly.

two-stage sampling

an example of multi-stage sampling. The first sampling is of large groups, e.g. herds, then a second-stage sampling is carried out within herds, e.g. sire families, with possibly a third stage, of individual cows within the sire families.

sampling units

individual members of a population. It is often difficult to define exactly what is a unit because of the design of the study.

sampling variation

the variation that occurs between samples of the one population. A measure of the random error of the sampling technique used.

The best part is that the camera does not do this at the cost of file size; the oversampling technology used allows each pixel to be perfect on a five- megapixel shot that can come in at a very reasonable 600- 700 kilobytes.

Vesa Jutila, head of smartphone product marketing (smart devices) at Nokia, told Gulf News that PureView uses oversampling to combine up to seven pixels into one EoACAypure' pixel, eliminating the visual noise found on other mobile phone cameras.

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